Flashlight



Aug- 15, 1950 w. R. AMsTUTz 2,518,437

FLASHLIGHT Filed Aug. 23, 1947 J0 43 A J4 2 s MM atenteci ug. 15,

FLASHLIGHT Walter R. Amstutz, Chicago, Ill., assignor to ButlerBrothers, Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Illinois Application August23, 1947, Serial No. 770,244

7 Claims.

This invention relates to a flashlight and particularly to the detailsof construction thereof whereby a flashlight that is less expensive tomanufacture results from design features which embody the inventiondescribed in the following specification.

`One object of the invention is to provide a flashlight housing and acover member therefor which is formed of transparent plastic material,the cover member having a reflector portion which is concave in theusual manner of reflectors and on which mirror silver has been depositedby recently developed precipitation plating processes capable ofproviding a coating of silver or other metal on plastic material, theflashlight thereby eliminating the necessity of a. silvered reflector asa separate unit and a, cover lens therefor to protect the silveredsurface from the atmosphere, the silvered surface in the case of myinvention being protected by the plastic itself by reason of thesilvering being applied on the inner surface of the plastic covering.

Another object is to provide a cup-like protector for the silveredsurface which seals in the back of the cover member thus protecting thesilvered surface from being scratched or other wise mechanically damagedwhen the cover member is oi the housing of the flashlight, the cuplikemember also serving as a means to support.

a prefocused ashlight bulb which projects into the reector portion ofthe cover member.

Still another object is to provide a novel connecting means for thecover member in relation to the flashlight housing which comprises abayonet joint type of connection, a portion of which is formed by thecup-like member and such portion also serving in conjunction with aspecial shape or bayonet slot to cooperate with contact springs in suchmanner as to provide a combined cover housing, connecting means andelectric switch, the switch being operated by rotating the cover memberrelative to the housing, the degree of rotation being limited to on andon positions by the design of the bayonet connection. This switchingarrangement eliminates the unsightliness of a separate switch projectingfrom the side of the flashlight housing and which type of switchpresents a considerable percentage of expense in connection with thetype of flashlight heretofore manufactured.

A further object is to provide a, spring within the flashlight housingwhich biases the dry cells therein into contact with the flashlightbulb, and through the bulb, the cover member and the cup member servesas a means to hold the bayonet (Cl. 24U-10.68)

2 slot connection in normally connected position and capable of manualdisconnection only by pressing the cover member toward the housingagainst the bias of the spring.

. Still a further object is to provide an electrical connection betweenthe spring which contacts one end of the battery and the cup memberwhich is electrically connected with one terminal of the flashlightbulb, in the form of a U-shaped strip of metal, the terminal ends ofwhich are positioned to be engaged by lugs struck from the cup-likemember, which lugs are selectively brought into and out of engagementwith these terminal ends by oscillation of the cover member relative tothe housing, the housing being provided with a pair of longitudinallyextending grooves in which the U-shaped strip of metal is seated to holdit in position against rotation and to accommodate it so that it doesnot interfere with the positioning of dry cells in the housing.

With these and other objects in view, my invention consists in theconstruction, arrangement, and combination of the various parts of mydevice whereby the objects contemplated are attained, as hereinaftermore fully set forth, pointed out in my claims, and illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a, side elevation with portions broken away showing aflashlight embodying my presen invention.

Figure 2 is a longitudinal sectional view thereof.

Figure 3 is a sectional view on the line 3-3 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a partial sectional view of the front end of the housing andcover showing them separated, and A Figure 5 is a rear elevation of thecover with the cup member removed therefrom in order to illustrate thesilvered portion of the cover, which portion constitutes a reflector forthe flashlight bulb.

On the accompanying drawing I have used the reference character H toindicate in general a flashlight housing and C a cover therefor. Thehousing H has a tubular portion I0, an enlarged flanged-like portion l2and a tubular portion I4 somewhat larger than the tubular portion I0.The rear end of the housing terminates in a dome-like closure I6.

The cover C comprises a cylindrical portion I8 having ribs 20 to serveas knurling for ro-- tating the cover on the housing and a concaveportion 22 terminating in an opening 24 for a flashlight bulb 26. Thecylindrical'portion I8 is adapted to t over the cylindrical portion I4and rotate thereon. The concave portion 22 is adapted to act as a.reilector for the bulb 26, the inner surface of the portion 22 beingsilVered as indicated at 28 for this purpose.

The material of the housing H and the cover C is preferably plastic, thecover C being transparent with the housing. H opaque translucent,

or transparent as desired. By having. the coverf eliminates thenecessityiof a cover lens and a rim u tefnoleit position o-sfound inmoet ashliehts.

thus reduoine costsl considerably@ Iloienhanoe the appearance of theashliellt. in general the silve'ring: may;VV extend asat- 31),. (seecylindrical-portion, til-of the cover. C... It. is'tnon.

enolosefthy a: cnn-like .closure-member. 32 forrnofl Qffmet.al;g andhaving an annular flange 34 press fitted intotheovor; member... The,Center of. the onnelike member 3 2 `ter-min@train a cylindricalv ange35i-:and1 an inturned flange 38. The flange.. 3iigisl adapted to havethey mounting IlangeSS, of tnehulbl Secured-thereto inlany Suitablemanner-..this..b1.1l.b beine, preferably of tneprefooneod.. type so thatthe flange. denitely determines theipositionor the filament ofthe bulbin rela ingof the light rays from. the. flashlight.

Toconnect the cover member C. to.tljigehousing H, I,- -provide inturnedbayonet. lugs- -t on the. cylindricallilange -34. of the cup-likeclosure member. adapted. to. enterbayonet-,slgts theiiange. I4, E achoftheseslots hast-three distinct porA tions-,-d an entry. portion42extending axially, a,

locking portion 44 extending. circumferentiallyand aconstricted portionA46 connecting the por... tions 42 and 44. Thefr length of the lockingpoition l44 isL somewhat longer than the width. of vthe bayonet lugs 46,the purpose of which. will hereinafter appear.

The? housing H; is provided with a plurality of longitudinally extendingribs 48 which on the in; side ofy .thehousing.,formv longitudinallyextending grooves 50. The ribs serve as a grip to hold the housing,while using the ilashlight or Iwhile .rotatin g.the .covermemb er Crelative to the housing.

Two of the grooves 50 serve to receive, a ,U- shapedstripI of; metal 5.2..which.is. riveted at. 5,4,fin the-housing portion I6 and has itsterminal ends. indicated at56, twisted; slightly as best. shown .inEigure 3. A spring.58,.is interposed between the.. riveted end of thestrip of metal 52 and a flashlight cell. 60and a.. second cell 621slocatedfin the housing H so that the two cellsare in series. in theusualmanner. The central electrode .640i the.

cell-'62 engages the base contact 66 of thelashf.

ngritbulb ze.

I Practical operation.

l In the operation of my flashlight. assuming the stopped-by aprojection 45. of. 'the slot, Thev lugs arein theposition illustrated.in Figures, that is,

4 out of engagement with the terminal ends 56 of the U-shaped strip 52.Thus the circuit to the bulb 26 is broken.

To turn the flashlight on the cover C is rotated clockwise relative tothe housing H which is illustrated by dot and dash lines in Figure 3,the direction of rotation being indicated by the arrow a. In this dotand-dashpositiomit; will be notedthat the. lugs for engaging thecontacts 56 are sprung inward slightly, thus establishing a circuitbetween the two. The complete circuit may. now be traced from the rearend of the cell 6e' through the spring 58 and the U-shaped strip 5 2jacross.the contacts 56 and 4B to the cup 32 and-through the cupfto theange 46- which is one terminal of the flashlight bulb 26. The currentthen owsthrqugh the lament of the bulb and back through its base contact66 to the center electroded of the cell 62.

When it is desirable to open the flashlight for renewing the. cells.-therein, the. cover member; C

pushed. towardv the housineH to take 11n-thee space shownA in FiguresLand: 2 between the. rear.r edge of the-cylindrical-portion I3.ofthecover and-,.-

Eigureea rand 5,) along the-inner sur-ino@ ofthe -z thoange l2 xof tno.housing.. This. positionstne.

' contact lugs 40 in alignment with therestricted,

portionsll of the bayonet slots so that. the. lugs can be.I brought bycounterclockwise-rotationinto, alignx'nent the portions. 4.2.- of theslotsfor:- withdrawal therethrough asthe cover. is rernqved..

'from. the housing. While thecoverisremoved'...

the' Cup member 3.2..Protects.the.si1verine 2.8.-and. 3 ll. against.mechanicallz damage., The cells.` 6XL, and 62 arenow--accessiblelforreplacementaiter which the cover C may.. be,replacedv In Figure 4, itwill nciteyslt'hat the cel-ll Elisir.

and getting them. into the portions '45. of the.

bayonet slots. The spring thenserveain addition. to maintaining properrelation between the nashlight cells and the bulb, to snap thev lugs 4Q,into.1

, the wider portions 44 of theslotsafter which they.

' will remainduring normal on" and oi operations of the cover mm.b.er.

From theforegoing specications,v it will be.. obvious thatI haveprovideda flashlight construc... tionin which manufacturing costs areconsiderably reduced by providing a reiiector silveringV ar. rangementthat eliminates somer parts andproviding other parts which servemultiple purposes,4 thus eliminating. parts, and4 the time .required to,assemble, them in the manufacture ofaflashlight. TheI cover connectingmeans serves also as a, switch mechanism andthe spring 5B'` servesto.keep the cover assembled on the housing. in. ade dition. to. its. normallninotlon. of engaging. the dn!v cellsv with the flashlight bullo.- Theresulting structure. is neat i n app.ein'grricel particularly byleliminating theA unsightly switch normally' provided' .on the housing,and'- is convenientto operate and v.open for thed renewal of'flashlightcellsL Some changesA may be. made in the construction andarrangement ofthe parts of my devicewith' out departingfronitheurealspirit andpurposeo my invention, and it is myintention-tocover by my claims .any modified forms ofi structure or use-A of mechanical' equivalents which' maybe reason ablyincluded Withintheir scope.

I claim as myinvention:

1. In, a. flashlight, la, .l h"ousing, a cover forv thel front end ofsaidhousing, said cover-lbeingi'ormed'- of transparentplasti-c materialwith aconcaveportion in which a flashlight bulb is adapted to belocated, the back of said concave portion being silvered to provide areflector for said flashlight bulb, and a cup-like closure memberinserted in the back of said cover for enclosing the silvering therein,such silvering also extending along the inner surface of said covermember from the periphery of said reflector to said closure member.

2. In a flashlight, a, housing, a cover member for the front end of saidhousing, said cover member being formed of transparent material with aconcave portion in which a flashlight bulb is adapted to be focused, theback of said concave portion being silvered to provide a reflector forsaid flashlight bulb, a cup-like closure member inserted in the back ofsaid cover member for enclosing the silvering therein, said cover memberbeing telescopically mounted on said front end of said housing androtatable relative thereto, a bayonet slot and lug connection betweenthe two, said-slot being arranged to permit limited movement of said lugand thereby limited rotation of said cover member on said housing, saidcover member and housing having cooperating contacts in the flashlightcircuit which engage at one limit of rotation and disengage at the otherlimit of rotation.

3. In a flashlight, a housing, a cover for the front end of saidhousing, said cover being telescopically mounted on said housing androtatable relative thereto, a, bayonet slot and lug connection betweenthe two, 4said slot being arranged to permit limited rotation of saidcover on said housing, said cover and housing having cooperatingcontacts in the ashlight circuit which engage at one limit of rotationand disengage at the other limit of rotation, said cover being formed oftransparent plastic material with a concave portion in which aflashlight bulb is adapted to be located, the back of said concaveportion being silvered to provide a reflector for said flashlight bulb.

4. In a flashlight, a housing, a cover member rotatable on the forwardend and removable from said end, a closure member in said cover memberhaving bayonet lugs, said forward end of said housing having bayonetslots to receive the same, a U-shaped contact strip electricallyconnected with a flashlight battery in said housing and having itsterminal ends extended into the path of movement of said bayonet lugs, aflashlight bulb supported by said closure member and electricallyconnected thereby through said. lugs with said contact strip in oneposition or rotation of the lugs in relation to the bayonet slots, saidcover member having a reflectorshaped portion for said flashlight bulband being silvered on its interior surface to provide a reector surfacetherefor, said closure member enclosing said silvered surface when saidcover member is removed from said housing.

5. A ashlight housing, a cover member rotatable on the forward end andremovable from said end, bayonet lugs carried by said cover member, saidforward end of said housing having bayonet slots to receive said lugs, aU-shaped contact spring electrically connected with a flashlight batteryin said housing and having its terminal ends yieldingly extended intothe path of movement of said bayonet lugs, and a flashlight bulbsupported by said cover member, said cover member-'having areflector-shaped portion for said flashlight bulb, said reflector-shapedportion being transparent and being silvered on its interior surface toprovide a reflector surface therefor.

6. In a flashlight, a housing, a cover for the front end of the housing,said cover being formed of a single transparent piece and having a reartubular portion for securing the cover to the housing and an outwardlyfacing concave portion at the front, said concave portion being silveredon its back surface to provide a reflector, said concave portion havinga central opening through which a ashlight bulb may extend to a focussedposition in the concave portion and reector, and a cup-like closuremember in said tubular portion in rear of said concave portion forenclosing the silvering thereon.

7. In a structure of the character disclosed, a housing, a cover memberfor the forward end thereof, said 'cover member being telescopicallymounted on said forward end and rotatable relative thereto, said housinghaving a bayonet slot adjacent its forward end, said slot having anaxially extending entry portion, a circumferentially extending lockingportion, and an axially rearwardly extending projection between saidportions defining a constricted portion between the other portions ofthe slot, said cover member having a lug insertible into said slot, saidcover member having a normal, forwardly biased position wherein said lugis engageable with said projection and with the opposite end of thelocking portion of the slot at opposite limits of rotation of the covermember, said cover member and housing having cooperating contacts in theflashlight circuit which engage at one limit and disengage at the otherlimit of rotation of the cover member, a flashlight bulb supported bysaid cover member, and flashlight cells and a spring interposed betweensaid housing and said bulb, said spring, acting through said cells andbulb, being operative to bias said cover member forwardly to said normalposition.

WALTER R. AMSTU TZ.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PTENTS Number Name Date 916,833 Blau Mar. 20, 19091,022,589 Lutwyche Apr. 9, 1912 1,487,983 Stiriss Mar. 25, 19241,591,627 Hopkins July 6, 1926 2,222,246 Tober Nov. 19, 1940 2,326,607Bohner Aug. 10, 1943 2,439,496 Szantay Apr. 13, 1948

